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I made these cool salt dough balls with prints in them the other day so they could be used as textured printing balls in playdough. Little miss Cherub (20 months) loves her playdough at the moment and squishing all sorts of things into it to see what pattern it will make so these worked really well. If you have a child with some measuring and cooking interests you could get them involved in the process of making these by introducing measurement, pouring, mixing, kneading, food prep and baking. Here is our easy DIY textured Salt Dough rolling balls for some super cool play dough printing.

DIY Salt dough;

Add 1 cup flour,

1 1/2 cup salt,

1 cup water and

1 tsp oil.

Mix into a dough consistency by adding a sprinkle more flour if it's too sticky or sloppy.

Mix together well, knead it for a few moments then let it sit for 5 so it expands and toughens a bit, (this isn't necessary but I found it made it easier to work with).

While you wait you should preheat the oven to 100- 120 degrees, remember your not going to stuff it up if you get the details a bit wrong 😊 it's a pretty flexible recipe.

Lay out some cooking paper ready on a tray & take the opportunity to clean up any flour dusted little hands (chairs, benches, walls and where ever else kids manage to splat ingredients on). Once your happy with the texture of the dough roll it into even sized balls about the size of a childs fist (great size for them to hold & roll).

To make our textures in the salt dough ball we used a tooth pick to puncture small surface holes; the handle end of a wooden spoon to get large round deep holes; a fork to Criss-cross thatch lines; and a print on an ornament that had snake tails, the key is to look around and think abstractly.

Look for deep textured or significant prints that are highly visible and will last the cooking process. You might find a crochet cloth works, a glass 3d print vase, wood carved furniture, utensils, jewellery, a weaved leather belt (anything really).

The trick is to roll the salt dough ball around it enough times that its printed deeply on every side and do so with as little skin contact as possible because the more handling the more you flatten or smooth out the pattern, you want deep and noticeable patterns so it prints well in your playdough.

Once your happy lay them on cooking paper and slow bake to dry them out for an hour at least, maybe even longer depending on how thick and large your salt dough balls are. You will see them dry out and lighten up changing colour as they cook, turn them a couple times just to even the process out & tap them to see if they're cooked right through. They should be very hard.

That's pretty much it, let them cool and they're ready to roll.

Now all you need is some silky playdough and someone keen to roll them around. Both Dimples and miss Cherub enjoyed this playdough extension and experimented with rolling the textured balls in different directions, pushing hard and soft, rolling fast and slow then around in circles, they tried just plain pushing it in a ball of play dough and all sorts of cause effect experiments. It was lots of fun!

A few weeks before Dimples had his 5th Birthday Party, a construction themed party, I had an idea to make a back drop type play station for the party so the kids could play with all sorts of construction themed toys in a small world diorama. Some kids are sensory challenged and don tlike dirt, mud and getting their hands all gross so this was an easy outdoor option on a smaller scale.

We started with an open cardboard box and some paint, it developed from there with some roads and cotton wool dirt piles and a rubbish pile glue in one corner. On the day of his party I put some cocoa pops and rice bubbles out for the kids to "dig into". I had seen the idea of using rice bubbles a couple years ago on Paint on the ceiling and always kept it in the back of my head hoping that one year Dimples would want a digging themed party.

This was it and it worked a treat.

During the weeks before, Dimples practised his scissor skills cutting out some buildings or 'skyscrapers' to stick on the back drop, he helped paint, glue and decorate the back drop. So the cardboard box which was just opened up on an angle and then stapled together so that it kept steady yet open enough for play slowly turned into a mini world full of construction. It was turning into a cool looking pretend play zone and Dimples had a blast making it come to life bit by bit leading up to his party.

Dimples loves craft, it was his idea to glue in some cotton wool balls and paint them brown to resemble a pile of rocks, and then in another corner he glued in "rubbish" which was ripped pieces of paper. I added some drawings, like a demolition ball on a crane and the windows in the buildings. It was looking more like a 3D small world by now. We added some road work signs and little traffic toys that he had along with a collection of construction vehicles and there he had his own construction area for pretend play. Dimples loves imaginative pretend play and small world areas, they give play time a realistic element.

It was a small construction zone for a couple of weeks before and he continues to love it for weeks after his birthday party, it proved to be a realistic little 3D small world on the day of his party and looked realistic with piles of pretend rubble. The coco pops and rice bubbles were a great sensory add on to the 3D world, they bought it to life and worked well getting dumped around and bulldozed over. The fit inside dump trucks and were able to get pushed around and cleared. The boys were happy to taste some and it is a safe alternative for younger kids as well.

I imagined that on the day they would get spread out everywhere but it was a risk worth taking, the boys were quite happy to play with them at the 3D small world construction station and used them in their imaginative play the way they were intended. They were able to spread them out all over the table and a majority of them did exactly that, carting, hauling, dumping and loading trucks tractors and construction vehicles all over the scene. It was definitely a fun alternative to digging in the dirt.

What other alternatives to dirt and mud would your kids love to dig in to?

Dimples has been playing and learning with ABC reading eggs lately, its an educational site for kids ages 3-13 that helps and promotes a love of reading in children. Its really fun and easy to use, You just go to The Reading Eggs Webpage, create a log in and "add a child" then they can go online (or on an ipad if you have a wireless connection) and start completing books and learn to read activities. Sounds too easy right?

Well it is that easy, and from the 4th August to 1st September 2014 ABC reading eggs is offering a 5 weeks free trial. This is the second year they've paired up with the Children's Cancer Institution and parents to raise important life changing funds for the Children's Cancer Institution.

The Read-To-Cure Challenge will be open on 4 August and children who sign up will be encouraged to complete as many books and online reading lessons as possible, they can have their friends and family sponsor their efforts to raise money. Not only does the Read-To-Cure Challenge support an important cause, it also inspires young children nationwide to read books and improve their literacy skills with this 5 weeks obligation free trial. Click here to read more & sign up to take part in the challenge

By joining in on the fun and signing up to be part of the ABC Reading Eggs Read-To-Cure Challenge, we aim to raise over $100,000 for the Children’s Cancer Institute. But not only this, there is another awesome benefit to all the children who join in; they will have the chance to win lots of cool prizes, too. There will also be prizes to children who complete the most books plus lessons, as well as to those children who raise the most funds. Its all for a good cause so why not give it a go? We will be.

ABC Reading Eggs will provide 5 WEEKS FREE ACCESS to their online reading program (ages 3-13). Not only this but your child can WIN fantastic prizes and Family/ friends can sponsor their reading efforts with all funds raised going directly to the Children’s Cancer Institute.

Helping to find a cure for childhood cancer, one book at a time.Children’s Cancer Institute conducts vital medical research into finding a cure for childhood cancer. All donations raised go directly to supporting their lifesaving initiatives for the 625 Australian children diagnosed with cancer each year. Check out the picture below for some examples of how funds can help.

Learn to read in 5 weeks free abc reading eggs, an award winning program with many educational benefits. Will you join in?

Well I was given a Radiant No Sort liquid to try for myself and put this theory to the test. As you already know if you follow this blog, we love mess! Messy Sensory Play, Playing in the dirt and in the Mud Kitchen, extreme Painting and slime making, all of which messes up the kids clothes good and well. CHILDREN CAN NOT HAVE TRUE FUN WITHOUT GETTING A BIT MESSY! Its a fact of nature and as parents of these some times chaotic, crazy and messy little people, we must accept this and learn to live with it, or do we?

I was certain that the ink would still be slightly stained on the shirt and that the yoghurt paint around the neck wouldn't wash out first go, but it did. I was very surprised! In fact I think I had more trouble cleaning the children than I did cleaning the clothes.

Watch the video below for a real life torture test done by two best mates and one of their girlfriends on the actual brand new clothes they bought from a shop, they washed them in their own home and returned it (like new) to unsuspecting retail assistants... Did Radiant No Sort pass the torture test?

Impressive, really impressive.If you're not convinced watch the other hilarious (and real life) Radiant Tests at www.radiantreturn.com.au or visit https://www.facebook.com/RadiantAustralia to see what others think. It worked for us and is suitable for both front & top loader washing machines!Radiant is available in 3 great variants, Brilliant Whites Sharper Colours, No-Sort and Sensitive. Each variant contains Colour Guard technology which is how Radiant keeps your colours newer for long. For more information visit the website. www.radiantreturn.com.auThis is a sponsored post, I received a bottle of the product to try, all opinions are my own.

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Now, one lucky Adventures at home with Mum Reader has the chance to win 1 x $50 Big W voucher that I have to give away. To enter, simply leave a comment in response to this question...

Outdoor play is a must at our place, my kids go crazy if they're locked inside for the day so I'm always looking for ways to make our outdoor play space exciting, fun and full of adventures. I'm always trying to expand and improve our yard so Dimples & Miss Cherub have plenty to learn from, play with and enjoy. This is another gadget I have designed and rigged up outside for them to get creative with.

The outdoor music wall stands above the sand pit and next to the water-wall, it makes a variety of chimes, clings and clangs as the kids bang on it with wooden spoons or drum sticks.

It's quite simple, an old wood pallet (painted and stood up) with a line of tin cans that have been painted in the colours of the rainbow and screwed on to the pallet bottom facing up from smallest to largest.

Dimples helped paint and order these, they make a great mini drum set. There's a DIY chime, it's made from a bunch of old keys strung to a metal tin box with wire and another DIY chime made from a milo can with metal can lids threaded below with wire so they hang close together and some more keys for some extra rattling sounds. The keys sound the most musical as they can be rattled, shaken, hit or chimed from left to right and have lovely quite tones.

At first we started with the rainbow cans like a big xylophone and we have slowly built on to it from there. I am sure we will continue to improve it over time and add more as we collect some suitable musical items to screw on. Down lower there are now 3 large metal mixing bowls and some old metal camping bowls that are screwed on loosely so they're able to spin around (see below). They are like super large symbols or can be used like drums.

Dimples sits in the sand and uses them like steering wheels in his imaginative play and miss Cherub bangs them with a wooden spoon and giggles because they have the best effect, sounding like large symbols and very loud compared to the cans. I have attached a string to the wooden spoons so they get hung up and are always near by.

Cans and tins, milo can lids and strung up bottle tops, hanging keys and metal bowls all make different sounds. Both the kids and their friends have enjoyed making music, singing and dancing around in the sand with huge smiles on their faces. They love experimenting with sounds and instruments, they love using the wall as different instruments from a xylophone, a chime & a drum set. It's been a great creative outlet for their play space.

If you haven't already you can check out some of our outdoor play spaces here

While getting some Construction themed Party inspiration off Pinterest for Dimples 5th Birthday Party I came across many Demolition party games, or "wrecking ball" type games where the children construct a tower out of blocks, pretend bricks or wrapped boxes and knock them down. With 8 little boys I knew this would be a hit!

In the weeks prior to the party I held on to any boxes we had and asked family to keep them, then Dimples helped me wrap them up as bricks. We had a large collection from shoe boxes, electrical appliance boxes and cereal-food packaging boxes all wrap in red, orange and yellow ready for the Construction theme 5th Birthday Party for Dimples.

In the week leading up to it Dimples had his trial of the game and we were happy with how that turned out and just knew that it would be much more fun on the day. The demolition or wrecking ball, was simply a beach ball covered in contact with a pipe cleaner stuck in as a hook to tie some string to.
We were right! Every one had a ball, there were kids laughing and giggling, yelling with excitement at who can knock the all the blocks over.

It was a huge hit, all the boys got a turn, some enjoyed it so much they stayed at it helping one another stack up towers and taking turns with the wrecking ball. There were towers and multiple towers being built and large piles of boxes flying all over the place. It was a good outlet for the sugar boosted energy they all had and for the party excitement they came with on the day and it was an ongoing play area that they all kept returning to. If you missed it you can see what other construction party games we had here.

Happy Adventures

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Piñata: A construction Themed Piñata stuffed with lollies, Dimples was five so he went first with 5 hits and each child got 5 swings at the piñata.

Dance Freeze: This was the game that Dimples insisted we played, I put some music on and the boys danced away showing us there best dance moves. It was such a happy sight seeing a bunch of kids enjoying them self, they looked so cute wearing construction vests, hats and boots grooving away.
Then Using a Stop Sign, I paused the music & held up the sign, they had to freeze and who ever moved was out, and so the game went until there were 2 left. They had a few goes and everyone ended up being a winner.

Wrecking Ball Game: With a beach ball wrapped in contact and hanging above a grassy mat the boys stacked up towers of boxes we had wrapped as bricks and took turns demolishing them.

Pass the Parcel: Most people know this classic Party game. A parcel of news paper with hidden prizes inside each layer. The children pass the parcel until the music stops and if it stops on them they get to open a layer. The prizes were construction themed stickers, balloons, bouncing balls, removable tattoos, notebooks, chocolates and crayons.

Construction Theme Play Station: In the week leading up to the party Dimples create a diorama kind of backdrop for the play station, it was a construction site with a bowl of construction toy cars, diggers and trucks, then using a bag of coco-pops and rice bubbles it was set up for some pretend play and digging.

Free Play: Of course until all the initial excitement wore off a little the boys explored the garden and found some smurfs, then looked at the Dinosaur hide out , they played in the sand pit together getting to know each other & tinkered around in the Mud Kitchen. They played together in the tree house and went over the balance stumps and ran around all dressed up in their construction gear.

Jelly Bean Bounce & Pop Game: We blew up a heap of balloons and in some we put jelly beans, then we put them all in the trampoline. The boys enjoyed this game the most, they had to jump and pop the balloons by sitting on them or jumping on them. There were plenty of giggles and they continued until there were no balloons left in the trampoline, a couple of boys asked for more and wanted to do it again.

Digging Work Zone: Of course no Construction Party is complete without digging in the dirt. After a couple of weeks of rain we were lucky to get a sunny day and the have the mud dry out a bit. Dimples had spent the days before digging and burying little skeleton dinosaurs, little treasures and wishing stones for the kids to find. We decorated the area like a real construction site and had a bunch of diggers, dump trucks, excavators and shovels ready. It was a huge hit and the boys kept returning to find more hidden treasures.